Best discussant award for FS professor Francesco Sangiorgi

FS Finance professor Francesco Sangiorgi has won the best discussant award for his discussion of the research paper “The Optimal Design of Green Securities” by Professor Adelina Barbalau (University of Alberta) and Francesca Zeni (Imperial College London and Bank of Italy) at the 9th HEC-McGill Winter Finance Workshop. From 27 to 29 March 2022, 12 research paper presentations from all areas of finance were critically reviewed by 12 discussants. 

Professor Sangiorgi discussed the design of green debt securities. He explained how it could sustain the adoption of green technologies needed to improve firms’ green outcomes. Green, and sustainability-linked bonds – where interest payments depend on outcomes such as carbon emissions – are part of a broader contingent of green debt securities. The trade-off between contingent contracts and distortions associated with imperfect measurements was highlighted in the discussion. This helps to explain the increasing popularity of sustainability-linked securities as a form of corporate green debt financing.

All presenters and discussants can be found here.